The Reichenberg Fellowship is a

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

Christian community based in Germany. In German it is called the Offensive Junger Christen (OJC) e.V.. It belongs to the

EKD The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestant regional Churches in Germany, collectively encompassing the vast majority of the count ...

and is situated in Reichelsheim in the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...

and in

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

History

The community was founded by Irmela and Horst-Klaus Hofmann as a contrast movement to the

Protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...

. Horst-Klaus Hofmann was executive secretary of the YMCA-

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

and held Christian youth meetings in the offices of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

. They invited students to share their family life in their home in

Bensheim Bensheim () is a town in the Kreis Bergstraße, Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhi ...

, Odenwald. The ''family'' grew to an

extended family An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...

and subsequently to a Christian community. They moved to Reichelsheim, Odenwald and bought the Reichenberg castle. Since 1999 the community defines itself as ecumenical.

Organization

The community is led by ''Prior'' Konstantin Mascher and consists of about 42 full members. The Reichenberg Fellowship is member of the

charity organization Diakonie and of the German Association of Youth Missionary Movements. The “Reichelsheim European Youth Center” is Chapter of

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. The German Institute for Youth and Society, (Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft (DIJG)) is the OJC's center for study and research. Director was

Christl Ruth Vonholdt Christl Ruth Vonholdt (born 1954) is a German physician for Child and Adolescent Medicine, former Director of the German Institute for Youth and Society (Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft), Christian author and is member of the Reic ...

Arthur A. Goldberg Arthur Abba Goldberg (born 1940) is an American businessman, convicted fraudster, and leader in the ex-gay movement. He is co-founder and co-director of Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) and president of Positive Alternatives to H ...

is one of its advisory council members. The Reichenberg Fellowship operates mainly on donations.

Basic activities

The Fellowship exists of Reichelsheim Schloss Reichenberg 2

* Reichenberg Castle with ** field of experience, ** Schlosscafé and ** the gothic

St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

's Chapel, * the Reichelsheim European Youth Center (REZ) with local and regional

Youth Work Youth work is a community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In general, it provides an environment where young pe ...

and international youth conferences consisting of ** the program pub ″Jig″ ** a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

** trips and camps * the Wellhouse (Quellhaus), with two families and four singles building a residential community * the Felsengrund multigenerational house * the seminar for biblical counselling with ** counselling training, ** the journal ''Brennpunkt Seelsorge'' for

Pastoral care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

** lectures * the German Institute for Youth and Society (Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft, abbreviated DIJG) with scientific studies and publications, the journal "Bulletin" and * the OJC community in

with the Biblical counselling action committee, conferences and community ministries * a library

International activities

The supporting non-profit association today has outreach ministries in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, Congo,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, Fidschi and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

development cooperation Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by ...

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. Since 1993, the Reichenberg Fellowship has led international building camps in Germany, Macedonia, Croatia and Russia. The young people between the ages of 16 and 26 have had the opportunity to work with others of different nationality, confession and language.

German Institute for Youth and Society

The German Institute for Youth and Society (Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft) was led by

; this position is presently vacant. The institute is the apologetic branch of the Reichenberg Fellowship. It publishes its own research and translates English publications into German. The institute cooperates with the following organisations: *

American Anglican Council The American Anglican Council began as an organization of theologically conservative Anglicans from both the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and The Episcopal Church in the United States. According to its membership brochure, it was fou ...

, Washington, D.C., US * Institut ekumenických studií v Praze, Prague, Czech Republic *

Institute on Religion and Democracy The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is an American Christian conservative think tank that promotes its views among mainline Protestant churches, as well as advocating for its values in the public square. Its critics claim that it has be ...

, Washington, D.C., US * Odwaga,

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, Polen ( R.C., relating to Catholic writings and Richard Cohen) *

Oxford Centre for Mission Studies The Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS) is in the former SS Philip and James Parish Church on Woodstock Road, Oxford, England, opposite Leckford Road. It was established in 1983 by Rev. Vinay Samuel. The centre exists to provide educatio ...

, Oxford, U.K. * The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI), US

Publishing activities

The OJC publishes the journals ''Salzkorn. Anstiftung zum gemeinsamen Christenleben'' ("Grain of Salt", for friends and supporters, 4 times a year), ''Brennpunkt Seelsorge. Beiträge zur biblischen Lebensberatung'' ("Focus: Counselling" 2 times a year). Members of the community including Irmela Hofmann, Horst-Klaus Hofmann,

, Klaus Sperr, Ute and Frank Paul have also published several books themselves. * ''Differentielle Wirkungen der Praxis der Transzendentalen Meditation (TM) - Eine empirische Analyse pathogener Strukturen als Hilfe für die Beratung.'' Bensheim 1980, Selbstverlag * Translation of: D. Mitchell Whitman: ''Brecht das Schweigen. Sexuelle Gewalt gegen Kinder.'' Titel der amerikanischen Originalausgabe: ''Child sexual abuse. An overview and teaching manual for clergy and other Christian leaders.'' Neukirchen-Vluyn 1993, * Offensive Junger Christen: ''Homosexualität und christliche Seelsorge. Dokumentation eines ökumenischen Symposiums. Veranstaltet vom Deutschen Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft (OJC), Reichelsheim.'' Offensive Junger Christen/Aussaat Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1995, * Christl Ruth Vonholdt (Ed.): ''Striving for Gender Identity: Homosexuals and Christian Counseling. A workbook for the Church.'' Reichelsheim 1996, Selbstverlag * Ralph Pechmann und Martin Reppenhagen (Hrsg.): ''Mission im Widerspruch. Religionstheologische Fragen heute und Mission morgen. Eine Veröffentlichung des Deutschen Instituts für Jugend und Gesellschaft.'' Neukirchen-Vluyn 1999, * Ralph Pechmann und Martin Reppenhagen (Hrsg.): ''Zeugnis im Dialog der Religionen und der Postmoderne. Eine Veröffentlichung des Deutschen Instituts für Jugend und Gesellschaft.'' Neukirchen-Vluyn 1999, * Ute und Frank Paul: ''Begleiten statt erobern. Missionare als Gäste im nordargentinischen Chaco.'' Neufeld-Verlag 2010 * Klaus Sperr: ''Herzschlag. Anstöße zu den Wochensprüchen des Kirchenjahres.'' fontis-Verlag 2014 * Ute Paul: ''Die Rückkehr der Zikade. Vom Leben am anderen Ende der Welt.'' Neufeld-Verlag 2015

Sources

* general * German Institute for Youth and Society

External links

Reichelsheim Fellowship
(German)
German Institute for Youth and Society
with publications in English and German {{Authority control Nondenominational Christian societies and communities Christian monasticism Organizations in the ex-gay movement Christian organizations established in 1968 Christian ecumenical organizations